Uh oh. Maybe this won't be a nothing burger. The Raiders actually look mean, not at all like a team that's just running through a scrimmage. That was Antonio Pierce's assessment after the Giants crushed Oakland 44-7 last week, and it seemed to have resonnated with the Raiders. They're getting pressure on Donovan McNabb. Even when they don't sack him, they've got him on the ground. And Oakland got a great effort from Louis Murphy on a short pass play from JaMarcus Russell to tight end Zach Miller. After Jeremiah Trotter got sucked up defending the run on a play action, Miller slipped behind Trotter and took what could've been a routine play and barrelled for an 86-yard touchdown, thanks to two blocks by Murphy. First, Murphy leveled Quintin Mikell. Then he bounced back and held off Ellis Hobbs as Miller pushed his way into the end zone.
Trailing 7-3, the Eagles got a big gift when Stanford Routt was called for pass interference on a play in which he intercepted McNabb. The pass interference call negated a touchdown by Routt. So instead of looking at 14-3 on the road, the Eagles are still only trailing by four.